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Tribes'
people who live along the Southwest of Irian Jaya (Casuari-Coast,
Cannibal-Coast), still untouched by modern civilization.
The swampy Asmat area, as big as Belgium, consists only
of dense jungle and thousands of rivers. |
The staple
diet of the tribes is sago, mussels, snails and insects. Everyday
they have to collect their food along the rivers in vast mangrove,
wild sago and bamboo forests. A hard and dangerous job in a
crocodile country, where some creatures can grow up to 10 meters.
Asmat is one of the most inaccessible regions of Irian Jaya
and many tribes have never seen any outsiders until today. The
tall and strong Asmat are world-renowned fantastic wood-carvers.
Some spectacular pieces of Asmat art are in the Museum of Primitive
Art in New York City. The Coastal Asmat are perfect canoe builders.
Everybody, even children, are going around on these long and
narrow tree-canoes, which can be up to 15 meters long. Some
have magnificent boat decorations. The coastal people live together
in big villages, where wooden long houses, the Yeus, are still
the center of power and spirit. The lives of the Asmat are made
from long genuine bones from the giant Cassowary bird and sometimes
even from crocodile bones. Their necklaces and other body decorations
are made from white kauri-shells, pig and dogteeth, grass and
free seeds and Cassowary feathers. To join one of the many different
Asmat cult-festivals is an unforgettable highlight, even for
very experienced traveler. Far away from the coastline, many
of the Asmat tribes build their houses on treetops, up to 15
meters from the ground. These are the Citak, Kuruwai, Kumbai,
Korfon and Uwakain as well as the people from Brazza and Kolff-River.
Living deep in the vast lowland jungles on the foot of the central
mountain range, their lifestyle remains still nomadic. To visit
these lost stone-age hunters is one of the last adventures on
this planet. |
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